'Suck up to him': U.S. overseas allies working on ways to manipulate Trump

Leaders of nations that have been on a friendly footing with the United States for decades already have in place plans for how they will deal with President-elect Donald Trump primarily based upon their experience with him before he was booted from office in 2020.

According to a report from the New York Times, foreign diplomats and government officials know that the returning Trump is easy to manipulate with flattery and will use a combination of those close to him and think tanks to sway him indirectly.

The report notes that those same leaders have already been making new efforts to "ingratiate" themselves which should open the door to smoother relations.

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According to Malcolm Turnbull, a former prime minister of Australia, "There were two misapprehensions about Trump. The first was he would be different in office than he was on the campaign trail. The second was the best way to deal with him was to suck up to him.”

"European diplomats are realistic about the task that confronts them. But they cling to the idea that with the proper approach, Mr. Trump can be swayed," the Times is reporting with Karen Pierce, Britain’s ambassador to the United States, confessing, "With President Trump, it’s the art of the possible. If you can explain what we can do together and how we can improve things in a significant way, then you can make progress.”

Kim Darroch, Pierce's predecessor, is doubtful about the early Trump outreach.

"It’s essential to do it; it’s remiss not to do it,” he explained before cautioning. “But I’m skeptical that we will shift him on issues where he’s made public commitments, whether tariffs or ending U.S. arms supplies to Ukraine.”

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